Persecution

Scripture Verse that Caught My Attention Today: 2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Observation: This is a rather universal statement.

Application: One of my little pet peeves is when people use universal statements liberally. For example, “everyone will be there.”

Really? Everyone? Well, you get the idea.

So when the writer of Second Timothy says “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” well, I wince just a little. I wonder if the statement is completely true.

And yet Jesus says a curious thing himself. He says (in Matthew 5:10-11) that those who are persecuted are “blessed.” And so the persecution, if or when it comes, is not necessarily a bad thing in the greater scheme of things. There is redeeming value in it.

We hope. We pray. We hope. We pray.

Prayer: Lord, if there is redeeming value in persecution, let all who experience the persecution see the redeeming values more clearly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Readings today included: 2 Kings 13-14, 2 Chronicles 25, and 2 Timothy 3)